CLEAR Path Act

The definition of 'country of concern' now excludes the country described in paragraph (1)(A)(vi) of section 1(m) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act, as in effect on the date of enactment. This carves out one specific country from the list of countries whose foreign governmental entities are covered by the restriction.

The core restriction was restructured from a provision that applied 'the restrictions described in subsection (f)(1)' (the existing government-wide post-employment rule) to a standalone criminal prohibition that states violators 'shall be punished as provided in section 216.' This makes the Senate-confirmed position restriction an independent offense rather than a derivative of the broader rule.

A new grace period was added: if a country is later added to the 'country of concern' list via joint resolution, the restrictions do not apply to that newly-added country until 30 days after the date of enactment of the approving joint resolution. This gives affected individuals notice before the restriction takes effect for a new country.

The sunset provision was expanded from a single sentence into two parts: (A) clarifies that after 5 years, restrictions no longer apply to persons appointed on or after enactment regardless of when their service ends, and (B) explicitly states the sunset does not limit enforcement for conduct that occurred before the 5-year expiration date.